How do salaries of Boise State football coaches stack up in Mountain West, Group of Five?

Ron Counts
Kyle Green/For the Idaho Statesman

The Boise State football team will pay its 10 on-field assistant coaches a combined $2.86 million this year.

That’s more than the $2.5 million that was stipulated in new head coach Spencer Danielson’s contract, but that figure is more of a minimum than a limit, a spokesperson for Boise State told the Idaho Statesman.

Boise State’s assistant salary pool of $2.51 million was the largest in the Mountain West in 2023, according to USA Today’s database. The Broncos were followed by San Jose State ($2.42 million) and San Diego State ($2.41 million).

Utah State ($1.62 million) had the smallest reported salary pool in the conference. Air Force does not release salary information, and Hawaii’s salary pool was unavailable.

Boise State offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter will make $460,000 this year as the highest-paid assistant on Danielson’s staff. Koetter, a former head coach in college and the NFL, was hired in February after Bush Hamdan left to take over as Kentucky’s offensive coordinator. Hamdan, a former quarterback for the Broncos, joined former Boise State head coach Andy Avalos’ staff in 2022.

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Danielson, the Broncos’ former defensive coordinator, was promoted to head coach last December. He was Boise State’s interim head coach for the final four games of the season after Avalos was fired in November. Avalos landed at TCU as the Horned Frogs’ defensive coordinator. Danielson’s five-year deal with the Broncos will pay him a base salary of $1.1 million this year and increase by $100,000 every year.

Tulane’s Willie Fritz was the highest-paid Group of Five head coach last year with a base salary of $2.8 million, according to USA Today. UTSA’s Jeff Traylor made $2.55 million, South Florida’s Alex Golesh made $2.5 million and East Carolina’s Mike Houston made $2.35 million.

Former Wyoming head coach Craig Bohl, who retired after last season, was the highest-paid head coach in the Mountain West with a base salary of $2.34 million. Former San Jose State head coach Brent Brennan made $2.3 million. He’s now the head coach at Arizona.

Avalos’ base salary was $1.75 million last year, which ranked No. 4 in the conference, right behind UNLV’s Barry Odom, who made $1.785 million.

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Danielson, 35, was the highest-paid assistant on Avalos’ staff the past three seasons. He made $280,000 in 2021, $290,000 in 2022 and $425,000 last season. He was scheduled to make $275,000 in 2020, but many salaries were reduced that year by furloughs, which were brought on by revenue lost because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Danielson was the second-highest paid assistant football coach in the Mountain West last season, behind only former San Diego State defensive coordinator Kurt Mattix, who made $450,000, according to USA Today. Mattix was not retained by new San Diego State head coach Sean Lewis this year.

North Texas defensive coordinator Matt Caponi’s base salary was $475,000, which made him the highest-paid assistant coach in the Group of Five last year, according to USA Today. East Carolina defensive coordinator Blake Harrell made $456,000, South Florida offensive coordinator Joel Gordon made $450,000 and former Memphis defensive coordinator Matt Barnes made $440,000.

Clemson offensive coordinator Garrett Riley ($2.05 million) and former Washington offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb ($2 million) were the highest-paid assistant coaches in the country. Grubb moved on to the NFL and is now offensive coordinator for the Seattle Seahawks.

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Hamdan, 38, was scheduled to make $460,000 this year and $480,000 next year, but his deal was still pending approval from the Idaho State Board of Education when he left for Kentucky. He’ll make $1.25 million this year at UK, according to the Lexington Herald-Leader.

New Boise State defensive coordinator Erik Chinander will make $400,000 this year. He made $220,000 as the Broncos’ defensive line coach last season.

Special teams coordinator and linebackers coach Stacy Collins will make $350,000. He returned in January for his second stint on the Broncos’ staff. He was on Avalos’ initial staff in 2021 but left the following year to take over as Penn State’s special teams coordinator.

Tight ends coach and run game coordinator Nate Potter, offensive line coach Tim Keane and new safeties coach and co-defensive coordinator Tyler Stockton will make $260,000 apiece this year. Cornerbacks coach Demario Warren will make $240,000, taking a $20,000 pay cut after dropping the special teams coordinator title.

Running backs coach James Montgomery will make $235,000 in his second season on the Broncos’ staff, after making $195,000 last year. Wide receivers coach and passing game coordinator Matt Miller will make $215,000 in his fifth season on staff at his alma mater. Miller, who was a wide receiver at Boise State from 2011 to 2014, also made $195,000 last year.

Edge coach Jabril Frazier will make $140,000 in his second season as a full-time assistant coach.

All of Boise State’s assistants have signed multiyear deals, except Koetter, who has been open about his return to full-time coaching being what he called a short-term commitment.

Boise State’s assistant salary pool

Here’s how much the Boise State football program has spent on salaries for on-field assistant coaches since 2014. The NCAA allowed programs to have only nine full-time, on-field coaches until 2018, when it began allowing a 10th. The strength coach is not included.

  • 2024: $2.86 million

  • 2023: $2.51 million

  • 2022: $2.13 million

  • 2021: $2.07 million

  • 2020: $2.325 million

  • 2019: $2.19 million

  • 2018: $2.275 million (first year of 10th assistant)

  • 2017: $2.085 million

  • 2016: $2.04 million

  • 2015: $2.105 million

  • 2014: $2.05 million

Boise State assistant coach salaries

2024

  • Dirk Koetter, offensive coordinator — $460,000

  • Erik Chinander, defensive coordinator — $440,000

  • Stacy Collins, linebackers/special teams coordinator — $350,000

  • Nate Potter, tight ends/run game coordinator — $260,000

  • Tyler Stockton, safeties/co-defensive coordinator — $260,000

  • Tim Keane, offensive line — $260,000

  • Demario Warren, cornerbacks — $240,000

  • James Montgomery, running backs — $235,000

  • Matt Miller, wide receivers/pass game coordinator — $215,000

  • Jabril Frazier, edge — $140,000

2023

  • Danielson, defensive coordinator — $425,000

  • Bush Hamdan, offensive coordinator — $400,000

  • Warren, cornerbacks/special teams coordinator — $260,000

  • Potter, tight ends/run game coordinator — $235,000

  • Keane, offensive line — $235,000

  • Kane Ioane, safeties/co-defensive coordinator — $225,000

  • Chinander, defensive line — $220,000

  • Miller, wide receivers — $195,000

  • Montgomery, running backs — $195,000

  • Frazier, edge — $120,000

2022

  • Danielson, defensive coordinator — $290,014

  • Tim Plough, offensive coordinator — $280,009

  • Frank Maile, defensive line — $270,004

  • Ioane, safeties/co-defensive coordinator — $225,014

  • Keane, offensive line — $225,014

  • Kelly Poppinga, edge/co-special teams coordinator — $220,000

  • Potter, tight ends/run-game coordinator — $220,000

  • Miller, wide receivers — $160,014

  • Keith Bhonapha, running backs/special teams coordinator — $125,000

  • Warren, cornerbacks — $120,016

2021

  • Danielson — $280,000

  • Plough — $270,000

  • Maile — $260,000

  • Keane — $225,000

  • Stacy Collins, edge/special teams — $225,000

  • Kent Riddle, tight ends — $225,000

  • Ioane — $200,000

  • Miller — $160,000

  • Winston Venable, running backs — $115,000

  • Jeron Johnson, cornerbacks — $110,000

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